Mowers, Trimmers and Edgers
Choosing, using and looking after the machines that keep a Lethbridge lawn tidy. This page compares mower types for typical city yards and acreages, explains mulching and deck sizes, covers trimmers and edgers, blade care, spring start-up and winter storage, and the City’s noise rules, with no brand names and no sales pitch.
On this page
Start with your yard
The best mower is the one that matches your lawn, your storage and your patience. Before shopping, take a minute to size things up:
- How much grass is there really? Pace out the front and back lawns. Most city lots are small enough for a push mower of some kind. Acreages are a different story.
- Slopes and coulee edges. Steep banks are hard work with a heavy push mower and risky with a riding mower.
- Obstacles. Trees, beds, trampolines and narrow side yards favour a smaller, nimble machine.
- Storage. A gas mower and fuel can need a ventilated garage or shed. Battery mowers fold up small, but their batteries want to winter indoors.
- Your body. A self-propelled drive or a light cordless mower can make the difference between mowing yourself and hiring it out.
What it means for you: whatever you choose, look for a mower that easily adjusts up to at least 7.5 to 8 cm cutting height. Mowing high is the key to a healthy lawn here; see Lawn care through the year.
Mower types compared
Manual reel
Spinning blades cut like scissors. Quiet, no fuel, no charging, light to store. Best on small, flat, regularly mowed lawns. Struggles with tall grass, twigs and dandelion stalks, and many models don’t cut high enough for our recommended 7 to 8 cm.
Corded electric
Light, cheap to run, starts every time. The cord limits range and has to be managed around trees and beds, and it must never be run over. Suits small, simple lawns close to an outdoor outlet.
Cordless battery
Quiet, low-maintenance, no fuel or oil. Run time depends on the battery and the grass; check that one charge covers your lawn with room to spare. Batteries are the expensive part and dislike cold storage. A good fit for most city lots.
Gas push or self-propelled
Plenty of power and unlimited run time with a refill. Handles long, thick or wet grass. Louder, heavier, and needs fuel, oil changes and winter prep. Self-propelled drive helps a lot on slopes and bigger lots.
Riding or lawn tractor
Makes sense for acreages and very large lots. Needs real storage space, more maintenance, and care on slopes, where tipping is a serious hazard. Overkill for a city yard.
Robotic
Mows a little every day on its own within a boundary. Quiet and hands-off once set up, but costly, and our wind, slopes and open yards bring their own issues. See the next section.
Most rotary mowers (gas, corded and cordless) cut with a single fast-spinning blade. Reel mowers give the cleanest scissor cut but only when sharp and adjusted, and only on grass that hasn’t got away from you.
Robotic mowers: the honest version
Robotic mowers have gone from novelty to common. They can work well here, but go in with clear eyes.
What they do well
- Mowing little and often keeps clippings tiny, which is ideal grasscycling.
- Quiet enough to run when a gas mower would bother the neighbours.
- Saves time and effort, which matters for people who find pushing a mower hard.
What to think through
- Setup. Many need a boundary wire laid around the lawn edge and any beds; others use satellite positioning, which can lose signal near tall buildings and trees.
- Slopes and rough ground. Each model has a maximum slope. Coulee-edge yards and lumpy clay can exceed it.
- Wind and debris. Our wind drops branches, twigs and blown-in rubbish across the lawn, which can stall or damage a small mower. A quick walk-around still helps.
- Cutting height. Check that it can mow as high as 7 to 8 cm.
- Edges. Most can’t reach right to fences and beds, so you’ll still need a trimmer.
- Theft. A mower working alone in an open front yard can walk away. Look for PIN codes and alarms, and consider keeping it in the back yard.
- Animals and children. Small animals, toys and curious kids can end up in its path. Avoid running it at night or when children and pets are out on the lawn.
- Winter. Store the mower and battery indoors, above freezing, from late fall to spring.
Mulching, bagging and deck size
| Mode | How it works | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Mulching | A closed deck and special blade chop clippings finely and drop them back into the lawn. | Most of the time. It feeds the lawn and saves bagging. Works best when you follow the one-third rule and mow dry grass. |
| Bagging | Clippings blow into a catcher. | When grass got too long, for picking up fall leaves to compost, or after dandelions have gone to seed. |
| Side discharge | Clippings shoot out the side. | Tall, rough grass on acreages. Aim it away from beds, sidewalks, cars, windows and people, since stones can fly. |
Many mowers do two or all three with a plug or chute. Mulching-mower clippings are the cheapest lawn food you’ll ever buy: University of Minnesota Extension estimates they add about one fertilizer application’s worth of nutrients a year.
Deck size
Deck width is how wide a strip the mower cuts in one pass. Push mowers commonly range from roughly 35 to 55 cm. A wider deck means fewer passes but a heavier, less nimble mower that won’t fit through narrow gates or between beds. For a typical city lot with trees and curves, a mid-sized push mower usually beats a wide one. Riding mowers start much wider and need open ground to earn their keep.
String trimmers and edgers
A mower can’t reach along fences, around trees and posts, or tight to beds. That’s the job of a trimmer. Edging, cutting a clean line where lawn meets sidewalk or bed, is a separate job.
String trimmers
- Power: the same choices as mowers. Cordless trimmers suit most city yards; gas trimmers suit acreages and heavy brush.
- Shaft: a straight shaft reaches under shrubs and is easier for taller people; a curved shaft is lighter and easier to handle for small jobs.
- Line feed: “bump feed” heads let out line when you tap the head on the ground; some heads feed automatically. Use the line diameter the manual specifies.
- Technique: cut with the tips of the line and tilt the head slightly. Keep the line well away from tree trunks. Repeated “string trimmer damage” strips bark and can girdle and kill young trees. A ring of mulch around each trunk means you never have to trim there.
Edgers
- Turning the trimmer: many string trimmers rotate to cut vertically. Fine for light, regular edging.
- Blade edgers: a dedicated machine with a metal blade cuts a crisp, deep edge along sidewalks and driveways, and handles overgrown edges better than string.
- Manual half-moon edger: a flat, curved blade on a handle, stepped into the turf. Quiet, cheap and great for bed edges once or twice a season. See Hand tools.
Before edging deep along sidewalks and beds, remember shallow sprinkler lines and low-voltage lighting cables. Utility Safety Partners notes that some buried utilities sit only centimetres down and that private lines (sprinklers, lines to garages) are your own responsibility to locate.
Blades: sharpen, balance, replace
A sharp blade cuts grass cleanly. A dull one tears it, leaving ragged tips that turn brown and give the lawn a greyish cast a day or two after mowing. Torn tips also lose more water and give disease an easy way in. Alberta Agriculture recommends sharpening the mower blade at least once a year; many people with bigger lawns do it twice, in spring and midsummer.
- Make it safe. Remove the battery, or pull the spark plug wire on a gas mower. Tip a gas mower with the air filter and carburettor side up, as the manual shows, so oil and fuel don’t run where they shouldn’t.
- Mark and remove the blade. Note which side faces down and which way it was installed. Wear heavy gloves and block the blade with a piece of wood while loosening the bolt.
- Sharpen to the original angle. File or grind only the bevelled cutting edges, following the factory angle. A mower blade doesn’t need to be razor sharp; a clean, even edge is the goal.
- Balance it. Hang the blade by its centre hole on a nail or a blade balancer. If one end drops, take a little more metal off that end (not off the cutting edge) until it hangs level. An unbalanced blade shakes the mower and wears the engine or motor bearings.
- Reinstall correctly and torque the bolt as the manual specifies.
Our sharpening page covers files, angles and edge maintenance in more depth.
When to replace instead of sharpening
- The blade is bent, cracked or twisted, even slightly.
- Deep nicks from rocks would take too much metal off to remove.
- The “sail” (the raised back edge that lifts grass) is worn thin.
- Repeated sharpening has made the blade noticeably narrower.
Never straighten a bent blade and put it back on. A blade that has hit a rock or curb hard enough to bend can crack and break apart at full speed. Replace it with the correct blade for your model.
Why does a sharp blade matter to grass? Try cutting a strip of paper with sharp scissors, then try tearing one. The cut edge is clean and straight. The torn edge is ragged and fuzzy. Grass is the same: a sharp mower blade cuts it cleanly so it heals fast, and a dull blade tears it, leaving ragged tips that dry out and turn brown.
Wonder: can you tell when the mower blade needs sharpening just by looking at the grass? Try this: the day after mowing (with the mower put away), use a magnifying glass to look at a few grass tips. Clean and straight, or frayed and brown? A safe job for helpers: walk the lawn before mowing and pick up toys, sticks, stones and dog bones. Then go inside or well away while the mower runs.
Spring start-up checklist
- Read the manual’s maintenance page. It’s the final word for your machine.
- Check the blade and sharpen or replace it before the first cut.
- Gas mowers: check the oil level (or change it if you didn’t in the fall), clean or replace the air filter, check the spark plug, and fill with fresh fuel.
- Battery mowers: bring batteries to room temperature and charge them fully. Check the charger and contacts for dirt or corrosion.
- Corded mowers: inspect the full length of the cord and plug for cuts and cracks. Use an outdoor-rated cord and a GFCI-protected outlet.
- Look underneath. Scrape off last year’s caked clippings, check the wheels and height adjusters, and make sure all guards and the discharge flap are in place.
- Test the safety controls. The blade should stop when you release the handle bar.
- Set the height high for the first mow, and wait until the lawn is dry and firm.
Putting it away for winter
Gas mowers and trimmers
Gasoline goes stale over a Lethbridge winter. It separates and leaves gum and varnish that clog the carburettor, which is why so many mowers won’t start in spring.
- Deal with the fuel, the way your manual says. Most manuals give one of two methods: add a fuel stabilizer to a fresh tank and run the engine a few minutes so treated fuel reaches the carburettor, or run the engine until it stops and the carburettor is dry. Some say to fill the tank to limit condensation; others say empty. Follow yours.
- Change the oil while the engine is warm, so dirt drains out with it.
- Clean or replace the air filter and check or replace the spark plug.
- Clean the deck. With the plug wire off, scrape away packed clippings, which hold moisture and rust the deck over winter.
- Sharpen the blade now, so the mower is ready for spring.
- Store it in a dry, ventilated shed or garage, away from furnaces, water heaters or anything with a pilot light. Never store fuel in the house.
Battery tools in a cold garage
Lithium-ion batteries don’t like Lethbridge winters. Freezing temperatures reduce their capacity and lifespan, and most manufacturers warn against charging them below freezing.
- Bring batteries indoors for the winter, to a dry spot above freezing and away from heaters. The tools themselves can stay in the garage.
- Store them part-charged. A common recommendation is roughly 40 percent charge for storage of a month or more; check your manual, since some batteries manage this themselves.
- Don’t charge a cold battery. Let it warm to room temperature first.
- Check a stored battery every couple of months, and top it up if the manual says to.
- Swollen, cracked or damaged batteries should be taken out of service and recycled, not stored. Never put them in household garbage.
A run of fall nights below −5°C is a good reminder to bring the batteries in and drain the hoses. Watch the overnight lows on the forecast page.
Noise, neighbours and disposal
Under the City of Lethbridge Noise Bylaw (Bylaw 5270), you may not run a motorized garden tool or a power tool outdoors in a residential area during “nighttime”: from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. before a weekday, and from 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. before a Sunday or holiday. In practice that means no mowing before 9 a.m. on a Sunday or holiday morning. Bylaws get amended, so check the current version on lethbridge.ca or call 311 if in doubt.
Within the legal hours, a little courtesy goes a long way: cordless and reel mowers are much quieter, mid-morning is kinder than dawn, and the neighbour’s afternoon nap or backyard party is worth working around. Hearing protection is a good idea with any gas machine.
When a machine is done
- Old mowers and small engines: the City of Lethbridge Waste and Recycling Centre lists “small engines and lawn equipment” among the items it accepts. Ask on arrival whether fuel and oil need to be drained first.
- Used motor oil, filters and containers: accepted at the Waste and Recycling Centre.
- Old gasoline: treat as household hazardous waste. The Waste and Recycling Centre accepts household hazardous waste from Lethbridge residents; check lethbridge.ca for what is taken. Never pour it on the ground or down a drain.
- Batteries: check lethbridge.ca or call 311 for current battery recycling drop-offs.
Safety basics
Mowers and trimmers cause serious injuries every year, mostly to feet, hands and eyes. The essentials:
- Wear closed, sturdy shoes, long pants and safety glasses. Add hearing protection for gas machines.
- Walk the lawn first and pick up rocks, sticks, toys and dog bones.
- Keep children and pets indoors or well away while any mower or trimmer is running. Never give children rides on a riding mower, and never let children operate mowers or trimmers.
- Mow across slopes with a walk-behind mower, and up and down with a riding mower (or follow the manual). Avoid steep banks altogether with riding mowers.
- Never reach under the deck or clear a clog with the engine running or the battery in. Stop the machine and wait for the blade to stop completely.
- Refuel a gas engine only when it’s cool, outdoors, and never with it running.
- Don’t mow wet grass. It’s slippery underfoot and clogs the deck.
Our Yard work safety page has the full details, and First aid covers what to do if someone is hurt.
Sources
- City of Lethbridge, Bylaw 5270, The Noise Bylaw (consolidated).
- City of Lethbridge, Waste and Recycling Centre (landfill) page: accepted materials and rates.
- Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, Lawn Care Tips (Agdex 273/14-1).
- University of Minnesota Extension, Mowing practices for healthy lawns.
- University of Maryland Extension, Dull mower blade/mower injury on lawns.
- Mississippi State University Extension, Don’t just store it: prep lawn equipment for winter.
- Utility Safety Partners, Click Before You Dig: homeowner overview.